Latest / The Daily Poem / Shel Silverstein’s “Sick”

Transcript

Shel Silverstein’s “Sick” · The Daily Poem

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to The Daily Poem, the podcast from Goldberry Studios.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Sean Johnson, and today is Friday, August 21st, 2026.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Today's poem is by Shel Silverstein.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: It's called Sick.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Like most of Silverstein's best-known writings,
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: The Giving Tree, A Boy Named Sue, it speaks for itself.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the poem.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Sick.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot go to school today, said little Peggy Ann McKay.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: I have the measles and the mumps, a gash, a rash, and purple bumps.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: My mouth is wet.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: My throat is dry.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going blind in my right eye.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: My tonsils are as big as rocks.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: I've counted sixteen chickenpox.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: And there's one more.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: That's seventeen.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: And don't you think my face looks green?
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: My leg is cut.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: My eyes are blue.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: It might be instamatic flu.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sure that my left leg is broke.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: My hip hurts when I move my chin.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: My belly button's caving in.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: My back is wrenched.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: My ankle's sprained.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: My appendix pains each time it rains.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: My nose is cold.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: My toes are numb.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: I have a sliver in my thumb.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: My neck is stiff.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: My voice is weak.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: I hardly whisper when I speak.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: My tongue is filling up my mouth.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: I think my hair is falling out.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: My elbow's bent.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: My spine ain't straight.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: My temperature is 108.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: My brain is shrunk.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot hear.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: There's a hole inside my ear.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: I have a hangnail, and my heart is... What?
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: What's that?
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: What's that you say?
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: You say today is Saturday?
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Goodbye.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going out to play.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: This has been The Daily Poem.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: We'll be back next week with more poetry for you.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: If you're in bed sick this weekend,
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: you can find us at dailypoempod.substack.com to while the way the hour is listening
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: to many, many,
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: many past episodes of The Daily Poem where you can also leave your own thoughts
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: and comments or subscribe and support the show.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: For all of us at Goldberry Studios, I'm Sean Johnson wishing you happy reading.